The cave was pitch black. Soundless and still, aside from the occasional drip of dew onto the hard ground and our subdued footsteps. Despite my eye's attempts to adjust to this darkness, it was futile as nothing could really be discerned in detail without proper lighting. I might just misstep and take a fifty-feet plunge over an opening.

That's why I urged Mason to flicker a fire alight using his magic. "Hey, Mason, do you have any sort of Fire magic that can act as a light source?"

"A light source, you say?" he replied back from behind, munching on some food. "I think I have something like that."

He finished the rest of his ration bar and clapped the flakes away. Then, stretching out his hand—palm up and opened fully—he began muttering a short chant.

"Burn bright and lead me forward—Lamplight!"

A small fire was born atop the palm of his outstretched hand, hovering lazily slightly above as it cackled. Mason concentrated further and made the fire grow in size, thereby illuminating the dark cave like a flashlight. The soft cracking of the embers felt familiarly cozy, though this isn't the time to feel like we're in front of a fireplace in a wintery night.

Despite the blazing torch of a palm, I felt little to no heat from it. That puzzled me a bit. "Mason," I asked with curiosity, "is your hand hot at all?"

Mason—whose face I could now see from the light shining upon it—raised a brow. "Um, it's warm, but nothing dangerous. I can control how much heat it releases."

"Oh, but then," Alessia offered, "won't the fire become a combustion if it doesn't release enough heat?"

"That's not really a problem. The reason the heat is controlled is because the spirits are converting it into mana for their own consumption. Like symbiosis, the spirits take the converted heat as energy and keep my fire continuously burning, while the fire I made provides mana for them. It's a cycle, basically."

"So you're saying the spirits are absorbing the heat, and in turn they keep your fire burning?" Alessia briefed as Mason nodded.

"Interesting," I mouthed with intrigue.

We continued walking, now with a new light source to guide our way, thus increasing our speed. The only things ahead were dry stone with ancient stalactites hanging low from the ceiling and stalagmites rising from the ground. I always wonder, why did they have different names despite being the same thing?

Shaking away those idle thoughts, I refocused on the path ahead of me. It wasn't easy to traverse, as the ground was uneven and wonky; if I don't keep track of where I'm stepping, I might trip over a sudden raise in the elevation. That's why just walking in this cave takes a bit of effort. These sack-elves must be good at trekking if they call this miserable place their den.

The conflagration burning atop Mason's palm could only light up so much of our surroundings. The illumination quickly fades into nothingness just a dozen or so feet in front of me. If anything comes charging like a bull at us, then we're all but done for. I took note of this potential danger and stood on guard. Even if this cave only had sack-elves inside, there's no reason not to be a bit cautious.

More darkness followed, as rock formations and rough stone walls passed. There wasn't anything to note aside from the strange way some of the hanging stalactites seem to have been shaved off. Like sliced upside-down ice cream, they were missing chunks of their body, from their tips to almost a fourth of their total length.

If I think about it, sack-elves shouldn't be able to do such things. Their measly little bodies sure don't seem like they can shave off stalactites that are hard as... well, stone. If it's not the work of those little critters, then something else must be residing here. Possibly something large—but then again, would the sack-elves really be able to survive when such a large monster is roaming around their den? Those shaved-off stalactites don't seem like they came off in ancient times, as they must've reformed by then. Could these be newly inflicted scars? Or, at least, they were shaved off not very long ago?

I decided to ask the two about it. "Hey, guys," I asked absentmindedly, staring at the broken stalactites, "do you see that?" I gestured at the ceiling. Their heads inclined upwards, observing the barely lit ceiling. Alessia was first to notice it.

"Wait a minute," she said, "why do those stalactites seem... broken off?" It must've been Alessia pointing it out that Mason also noticed.

"Yeah... they don't look fully intact. Why is that?" he said.

"Just to be sure, this is the sack-elves' den, right?" I asked with caution.

"It definitely is... sack-elves aren't the most powerful, but they also don't like when something invades their den. If they can, they'll use whatever means to drive the foreign invader out of their own hiding place," Alessia explained.

"Then, what about mutualism? Do the sack-elves have any sort of symbiotic relationship with other creatures?"

"No, that's unheard of," Alessia quickly shot down the idea as she shook her head. "Sack-elves are greedy monsters. They don't like sharing their space, just like how they steal other people's things for themselves. Have you ever seen sack-elves working as a group to steal anything before?"

"Now that you mention it," said Mason, "I've only seen sack-elves working alone. Is that a trait or something?"

Alessia shrugged. "It's just how their mind works. They don't think any further than taking things away from people and annoying them; cooperation in crime is unnecessary when their goal is to simply take and provoke."

"I see..." I muttered as I continued to stare at the stalactites on the ceiling that looks like they've been brushed off. Something had to have done that—it can't possibly be a natural formation. We had no choice but to continue with more caution.

We walked on, albeit slower, as we took in every crevice and etch in our surroundings. Any movement and we might just burn this whole place down. An uncertainty rose in my mind, threatening to take over as danger looms ahead. I couldn't fight it off no matter how hard I tried, not when I'm surrounded in all directions by either sharp rocks or darkness, or both.

I took a few breaths and tried to focus, but a sound caught me off-guard. It was the light tap-tap-tap of bare feet making its way over hard ground, echoing about so faintly that my breathing could easily drown it out. I immediately halted, and the two beside me also stopped in their tracks.

"Shh," I gestured with my forefinger over my mouth to shush them, just as Mason was about to open his mouth. He and Alessia listened closely, and from their slowly bulging eyes, I can tell they've also noticed the faint tapping on the rock.

Mason whispered with worry. "What is that sound?"

"I'm not sure," I whispered back, "but I suspect a sack-elf."

"What on Elhera are you two acting so dramatic about?" Alessia said, voice subdued but not to the point of whisper. "There's nothing here but sack-elves."

"And whatever the thing is that scraped off those stalactites," Mason offered. Alessia sighed in annoyance.

"Come on, let's find out what it is," I urged the two to stop bickering and follow. They silently complied, keeping a steady watch just a tiny bit behind me.

The cave veered slightly right as we continued our journey. The tap-tap-tap sound increased in volume as we got closer and closer. The ebbing of my heart accelerated as the revelation of this mysterious sound approaches. I fought to keep my breath steady.

The layout of the cave changed again, turning a sharp left around a corner. I stopped and took a peek around the sharp corner made of stone. Mason and Alessia followed.

My eyes widened as they adjusted to the dark, unilluminated part of the cave where Mason's light could not reach. The same stalactites and stalagmites, the same darkness, the same rocky and non-uniform roughness of the walls—except for the small creature waddling its away forwards holding an empty jug.

It was the same sack-elf we've been following. We lost track of it when he took a small breather outside the cave, but it looks like we've caught up with it. Now that it's back in its den, the sack-elf's walking speed slowed down. It wasn't in any hurry. Even in the undiscernible darkness, I could still make out the silhouette of the sack-elf, with its signature elf-like ears.

"That's..."

"The same sack-elf..."

Alessia and Mason mouthed respectively, squinting as they observed the small creature. It was unmistakably the same one that led us into this very here hideout. The empty jug was almost as large as its own body, and had it not been hugging it tightly as it made its way through, it might've fallen and cracked. I'm surprised it was still intact even after the treacherous walk through this cave.

The sack-elf slowly walked into the dark cave, then turning a corner and disappearing from our sights.

"Should we follow?" Mason asked.

I nodded. "Let's go."

We briskly walked through the tunnel, taking no risks to break out into a full run. Our loud footsteps might just be heard by the sack-elfs. Again, we stopped by the turn, but it turned out to be a path branching off from this tunnel. Poking my head over the turn, I noticed a large pile of something.

"What the..." Alessia gasped as she noticed the mountain of stolen goods. Yes—it was a large pile of stolen possessions, with just about everything inside: shoes, mirrors, scarfs, books, planks, ragged clothes... the list goes on. Name anything you'd find in your house, and you're bound to be able to find something similar in this pile. So this is their stash...?

The movement by the corner of my eye caught my attention. It was the same sack-elf holding the stolen water jug. It carefully placed the stolen jug near the foot of the pile, where there wasn't a risk of it slipping off the harsh slope. Most of the stolen objects were small, reaching only as big as the sack-elves themselves.

I wondered... were all these stolen from the village of Sotmesmere? The amount of things piled up here... it felt like there was too much. After all, reports of things going missing had only popped up about a month ago in the village. Before that, nothing of the sort happened. So I made a hypothesis: could these stolen objects be from other villages, not just Sotmesmere?

It wasn't an impossibility. There's definitely neighboring towns and villages around; Sotmesmere isn't the only human settlement in Arria. These must've come from those other towns and villages. As such, the stolen things have amounted to this large pile of... stuff.

The sack-elf was by now heading back to the entrance of this open chamber, where we are standing right now. I almost panicked as I snapped myself back from my thoughts.

"Hide yourselves," I whispered loudly—or maybe said quietly—as I stumbled to the nearest obstacle in sight. That plan was shut off, however, by the fact that Mason and Alessia have also been stumbling around frantically, then one of them falling down and causing the one in front to fall as well, like a domino. I hit the ground with a considerable thud. My nose hurts, not that I can see when the only light source residing on Mason's palm has all but extinguished.

It wouldn't be farfetched to say that the returning sack-elf noticed our clumsy act, which caused it to blare every single one of its sirens in its body. With a panicked yelp, it rushed off into the cave, screeching an undecipherable noise that echoed harshly in our ears. I immediately stood up the moment Mason and Alessia got off me.

"Oi, what was that for?!" Alessia grumbled, patting away the dust in the empty darkness. The tapping of feet was much louder, as the sack-elf was running away in a hurry, possibly calling for its friends.

"Sorry, sorry!" Mason hysterically apologized, scratching the back of his head. "I didn't know you were so close!"

Alessia raised an eyebrow. "You didn't notice I was... what?"

"I wasn't paying attention, sorry," he apologized again.

Alessia was staring daggers at Mason.

"Let's save this bickering for later," I hurriedly intervened, "We've got danger ahead," I pointed at the tunnel-like cave that stretched on, which branched off into several other paths and chambers. I could hear footsteps rushing about by now.

"What are we going to do?" Alessia asked. "We would've been fine if Mason wasn't so clumsy."

"Look, I apologize, okay? I didn't mean to push you," Mason retorted.

"Come on, guys, we have more important things to worry about than who pushed who," I grumbled. As if catching on to my impatience, the two of them shut their mouths.

First off, I need to think of something. At this very moment, a horde of sack-elves are probably rushing towards us, with the intent to drive us out, and possibly even kill us. Whatever must be done now, has to be done quickly.

"Come on... what should we do..." I racked my brains for ideas, at the same time desperately trying to ignore the feeling of impending doom awaiting us before this cave. How come I didn't notice this feeling up until now? Yeah... that's right... I'm scared for my life.

The weird onset of events has led me to pushing out that needless feeling... but now that I'm in the middle of possible death, all those fears are suddenly rising up like magma inside a volcano about to erupt. I wanted to scream in agony, but I know I can't. This isn't the time to be shivering out of control. I need to take control of the situation and, no matter how slim the chance may be, to turn it around.

I analyzed the situation in front of me. We're in a long tunnel-like structure, with multiple paths branching off from the main one. If we can take advantage of those funnelling branches... Yes! There it is! An idea!

I quickly cooked up something in my mind, not even taking the time to tell Mason and Alessia before taking hold of both their hands and rushing into the chamber where all the stolen property lies.

"H-Hey!!" "Whaaa—"

Alessia and Mason shouted as they felt the sudden tug on their hands. I didn't pay their shock any mind though, as I pulled them into the room nonetheless. The large pile of everything loomed over us in darkness, ominously and almost omnipresent. Like a towering mountain, I felt tiny standing beside it, despite the pile only being a few feet taller than me.

"What do you think you're doing, Ernie?!" Alessia was the first to scold me. "You could've at least said something!"

"Sorry, I didn't want to waste any time. Quick, help me find something big and heavy," I changed the topic, not even taking a peek at the annoyed Alessia and bemused Mason. Sighing in defeat, Alessia followed my instructions, rounding the pile of things to find something big and heavy enough. A few seconds later, Mason managed to come to his senses again and searched with us as well.

I found a large boulder after a short while of looking around. I asked Mason and Alessia to help push the boulder a little, to which they followed with confused looks on their faces. Without hesitating, I concentrated and focused my mana to create a link with the large rock. Once it connected, I levitated it using the previously applied force that Mason and Alessia added, slowly moving it up and anchoring it by the top of the entrance.

"What are you planning, Ernie?" Mason asked, bemused as he eyed the floating piece of rock dangling by the entrance of the chamber.

"When the sack-elves come flooding in, I'll smash the front few with this boulder," I briefly explained.

Alessia glowered. "That's it? What about the horde at the back?"

"I'm not finished yet," I continued. "You two will wait behind the pile of stolen stuff, directly across from the entrance. When the sack-elves from behind manage to push through the heavy boulder, you'll push down the large pile of things and confuse them for a bit."

"And then?" Alessia asked again.

"And then we begin a massacre of sack-elves."

At my last words, both Mason and Alessia looked at me with uneasy faces. I bit my lower lip as I fought to concentrate on the rock levitating just above the entrance. It was draining a lot of my mana.

"Can you two hurry up?" I urged them. They complied with hesitation, though I can't blame them. This is a very half-thought out plan that I made in the face of disaster. This is at least better than us waiting and doing nothing, right?

Mason and Alessia went into position, hidden behind the mountain of everything. I waited nervously for the horde of sack-elves to come barrelling through into this chamber. My heart is now pumping like I'm running on a marathon, my mind racing with thoughts. This could turn out in so many ways.

Soon, the tapping of bare feet on cold hard ground increased in volume. It became more and more furious as they approached. I could even feel the ground shake slightly under the sheer number of sack-elves marching in to kill us.

—Then, they came.

The frivolous shouting and pounding erupted like a volcano, threatening to engulf my ears. As if they were one as a large tsunami wave, dozens upon dozens of sack-elves rushed in from the entrance.

I immediately break the mana link between me and the boulder floating just above the entrance the moment I spot the sack-elves coming in. In an instant, the boulder fell, heavily impacting the floor in a powerful boom and shaking the walls of the cave itself. As it met the ground, the large rock managed to squash a dozen and a half sack-elves, rendering them immobilized, and some even dead.

The tracker on my wrist chimed and glowed a green color. There, the number '18' showed itself in a bright green glow. That must be the number of sack-elves I've killed just by using the boulder alone.

—But that wasn't enough. More than triple the amount of anvilled sack-elves pushed and heaved on the boulder that killed their brethren, slowly but surely moving it out of the way. I swiftly head to the back of the pile, as far away from the incoming horde of green little creatures pushing and shoving their way in. I met up with Alessia and Mason, who had concerned looks on their faces.

"Eighteen down," I said as I showed them the number on my tracker, "and about eight times that amount left to go."

Alessia scowled under her breath. "That's way too many for the three of us to deal with."

"Not as long as we are ahead in the game. Come on, on the count of three, let's push this whole pile of stolen trash down." I grinned at the thought of giving the sack-elves the taste of their own medicine.

"Wait," said Mason, approaching me as he did. "I think I can make this easier."

"What?" I looked at him, dumbfounded.

"Think about it. This whole place is made of rock. I've got Earth magic, haven't I? I'll push the whole pile down with a protruding rock. Lickety-split."

"That's... much more effective, actually," I said in amazement.

"Wow, Mason actually has a brain," Alessia sneered.

Without paying her any heed, Mason concentrated with his eyes closed and hands planted on the ground. Then, he began chanting.

"Lift the grounds up from beneath our feet..."

Following the rhythm of his chant, I started counting to three, just as planned. Alessia prepared her crescent-shaped blade, Runae, which she held tight in her right hand. Similarly, I unhinged the boomerangs attached to the keychain-like circle that held the five of my brass weapons.

"One—" I began.

"...Strike the air from the bottom of my reach..."

The ground rumbled as the march of the sack-elves compounded onto each other. The boulder was edging away now.

"Two—"

"...Chuck the sharpest edge into their faces through my will..."

The boulder was now almost out of the way. A few sack-elves had already broken through from the opening and by jumping over the rock. I gulped and took a deep breath, then bellowing—

"—Three!"

"...Show them the force of the earth with sheer thrill—Gaia Spike: Maxima!"

At my last shout, the ground shook even further like an earthquake, before a large protruding spike rose from the back edge of the pile of stolen trash. It launched up at an incomprehensible speed, easily knocking the mountainous pile off its balance. A flurry of literally everything—bags, socks, containers, files, and even door handles—rained down like a bizarre rain, pounding on the walls of the chamber as well as the heads of the sack-elves.

By now, the boulder was pretty much clear from the path now, and almost five dozen sack-elves had entered. The sheer number of the creatures could easily outbalance the scale of the fight had we not confused them using this flurry of their own stolen goods. The heavier items even knocked out a few sack-elves. A few of the things that flew high enough hit the stalactites on the ceiling, cracking them and releasing them from the ceiling. They fell and impaled the unlucky sack-elves that couldn't manage to dodge the stalactites, racking up some kills for Mason's tracker.

"Ho, nice," Mason muttered to himself, looking at his tracker with interest and not even bothering to look at the wave of monsters in front. I wanted to hit his head, but I have better things to do—mainly, to kill some sack-elves.

I concentrated again, linking my five boomerangs with mana. Then, throwing them all out at once, I commanded them to veer in all directions, giving concussions to every sack-elf I could see. I was standing a safe distance away from the horde of sack-elves since I can use my Vector magic to control my boomerangs to attack in place of me, but Alessia had to charge in head-first.

Speaking of Alessia, she darted into the battlefield as she bellowed "UaaaaAAAAAAAH!!" —with Runae in hand, smoothly and gracefully slicing every sack-elf in reach clean. In one swing, she could decapitate three sack-elves without much effort, as long as they lined up perfectly. Blood sprayed like wildfire everywhere, her clothes now soaking red. The green glow on her tracker didn't subside, and the same goes for the ever-ringing chime coming from the same tracker.

I'll have to pick up my pace—not that we're competing or anything, but I don't want to fall behind. I increased the speed of my boomerangs, knocking and slicing the sack-elves in front of me to death. No matter how fast their measly little legs carry them, my boomerangs will hone in and knock them off, then giving them a concussion, with death shortly following in its wake.

Mason wasn't far behind, either. With his sword and shield, Swish and Flick (I still think it's a dumb name), he charged not unlike Alessia into the battlefield, with his shield in front to push away the sack-elves. Once he has reached the thick of battle, he brandished his sword in a large circle, slicing off multiple heads of sack-elves. Crimson blood spread like fireworks bursting in the sky.

The falling debris had by now stopped, and the pile of stolen things were now a sea of stolen things instead, littering the ground everywhere and making the ground hard to move over. This proved a bit counterproductive as Alessia was struggling a bit to move freely, but her agile movements and jumpy tactics all but made up for it. Mason didn't even mind the stuff on the ground—he'd just knock them all away.

In my case, however, it has proved very beneficial, as the sack-elves couldn't easily get to me. They had to slow down to avoid tripping, which I can then easily knock them down without much difficulty.

The battle stayed on our side for a few minutes, but soon, the tides turned as the endless horde of sack-elves entered the cramped chamber. My tracker had been glowing and chiming since my first kill came, and the number on it almost reached 60. Even with the loud screeching and shouting and scraping of swords, the indefinitely unending chimes echoed clearly.

Then, worse came to worst. The wave of sack-elves outnumbered us so much that it was hard to even kill one without two more coming at us. They couldn't deal much damage to our bodies, but when dozens of them are piled on top of you, you're bound to get damaged at some point. Alessia has been overwhelmed by the number of sack-elves and was stuck in an endless loop of slicing and more slicing; Mason was not able to do much since he was under a large pile of sack-elves that threatened to drown him; and I was being pushed back by the sheer number of incoming sack-elves. My boomerangs couldn't deal enough K.O.'s to dwindle their numbers.

I'm being pushed into a corner. What should I do? I tried to rack my brains for a new idea, but all I can think of is to kill. Come on...!

Alessia yelped from a distance away, as she lost the grip of her crescent-blade. In an instant, she was overtaken by dozens upon dozens of sack-elves. Then, it hit me: the sack-elves are all clumped together. Finally, like a light bulb popping on, an idea appeared in my mind. But first of all, I'll need Mason.

Using a tactic I've used on him before, I stood on one of my boomerangs and took flight. The sack-elves could only stare at me, helpless, as I flew through the chamber as if I'm riding on a magic carpet. Now that I'm out of reach of the sack-elves and in relative safety, I commanded the rest of my boomerangs to shovel away the sack-elves that were piling on Mason. Slowly but surely, the pile thinned and I could finally see Mason, huddled in a ball amidst the crawling creatures.

"Mason!" I shouted at him, flying a boomerang close to his side, "Hang on!"

He took grasp of my boomerang, holding onto it like dear life. I then made it flew up to where I levitated.

"Mason," I said a bit breathlessly as I've used a considerable amount of mana, "are you alright?"

His clothes were torn, wounds and scars everywhere on his face. One of his eyes had a bad bruise. Still, he could talk.

"I'm... fine," he said meekly, coughing as he did so.

"Um, I know this is a bit much, but can you use your Earth magic to make us a platform?"

Mason silently stared at me for a moment, then nodded. "I see. That face of yours gives it all away. You have a plan, don't you? Get me near a wall—I'll make us somewhere to stand on."

I flew Mason and myself near one of the chamber's walls, which he then placed a hand on and said his short spell: "Gaia Spike!"

—Suddenly, a slab of rock protruded out from the wall, which I quickly landed Mason and myself on. Now that I'm not concentrating on five things at once, my mind becomes clearer. I immediately asked Mason to use another spell.

"Mason, send a wave of fire over the sack-elves."

"What?" He exclaimed in disbelief. "But Alessia's in there!"

"Mason, do you want to get through this alive or die inside this cold, dark cave?"

"Of course I want to get out alive!"

"Then do it! Burn the sack-elves! I'll save Alessia before she gets burnt!"

"F-Fine! I'll do it!"

I nodded, then flying off again into the thick of the battle, where Alessia is drowning inside piles upon piles of sack-elves. Only a single hand stretches above the growing pile. I quickly hover over the sack-elves and took hold of her hand. Behind me, I could feel a blazing heat welling up. Mason must've already completed his spell.

I pulled on Alessia's hand, but the weight of the sack-elves was too much for me. I almost stumbled and fell into the sea of sack-elves, and sooner or later burnt to a crisp from the fire.

Using my other boomerangs for stability, I planted my right foot onto a different boomerang, giving me a better centre of gravity. Two other boomerangs stood by my chest as support, since I'll be using both my hands to pull Alessia up.

Straining to heave her up, I pulled with all my might. The first few heaves were fruitless—Alessia didn't budge at all, only hearing her muffled moan of pain from below. I was about panicking now as the fire is closing in on us. Mason was shouting from the platform as well, but I couldn't make out what he was saying from the screeching of the sack-elves and the constant chiming from his tracker.

With the last round of effort, I put everything into my body and pulled. I pulled so hard my arms could probably rip off from my body. But I didn't mind the pain, and kept on pulling. Finally, I felt some movement, and it gave me more motivation to heave. I expended all the energy I had left in my body to pull on her arm.

"HraaaaAAAAAGH!" —I bellowed upon my last chug, flinging Alessia out from the horde of sack-elves. A few of them went flying. I couldn't care less about them, though, nor the ear-splitting ringing from my tracker. The heat is growing so fast that sweat is starting to roll down my cheeks.

Carefully, I positioned my last boomerang and the other two I previously had on my chest to form a comfortable pseudo-platform for Alessia to sit on. The conflagration of sack-elves has reached us by now, and we barely escaped by floating up into the air. Any later and Alessia and I could be caught in that fire.

"That was close..." Mason said warily as I plopped Alessia down onto the platform the former had made. She was in complete shambles—her clothes were almost ripped clean, save for the few important parts covering up her private areas, her hair had rips in them and was dyed red by the blood of the sack-elves, her arms, legs, neck, face and literally everywhere had bruises, scars and wounds on them. Her breathing was ragged, eyes open in shock.

"Alessia, how are you...?" I asked, not really knowing what to say. I was quite surprised as well, by how close of a call it was.

"I... I'm—I'm done," she said, lying down in defeat face-up. "This is the worst..."

"I know... But your wounds... we need to treat them...!"

"I have wounds as well, Ernie. You're the only one that went scot-free," Mason said solemnly.

I looked back and forth between the two in front of me and myself—I only realized how bad of a condition they're in once I compared myself to them. I was basically as good as in perfect condition in comparison to the two in front of me. Biting my lip, I tried to think of something.

"It's no use trying to come up with a plan now, Ernie. We don't have our knapsack, and we only brought the bare essentials inside. All I have is this health potion," said Mason as he shook a small bottle filled with glowing green liquid.

"...Give it to Alessia," I said. "And take my mana potion," I offered him the vial filled with an iridescent rainbow-like liquid that I had attached by my belt. It was the only one I brought. I really underestimated how powerful these sack-elves can really get.

"...Thanks." Mason drank the mana potion in one gulp, while Alessia, who had sat back up now, slowly drank the health potion.

With nothing else to do but wait, we watched as the bright hot conflagration engulfed the whole chamber. The sweltering heat made sweat form on me and quickly slipping down before evaporating. The cackling fire, along with the screaming fits being performed by the burning sack-elves and the constant ringing in Mason's tracker were the only things rebounding in our ears.

When this scorching flame ceases, we'll finally be free.

—Or will we?